An Arbroath woman has been declared the winner of the latest edition of Come Dine with Me.
Kezia Adam, 21, featured on the Channel 4 show alongside other budding chefs from Perth, Dundee and Angus.
She impressed her fellow contestants on Tuesday’s show with a three-course meal consisting of Arbroath smokie haddie pot, beef bourguignon and a chocolate fudge brownie melting bomb.
Entertainment was provided by two-piece band Pepperpot, who asked everyone to join in with a rendition of Donald, Where’s Your Troosers?
Her fellow competitors scored her evening 32 out of 40.
Youngest contestant takes top prize on C4 show
Kezia was in the show alongside Perth salon owner Stephen McCartney, Carnoustie civil servant Siobhan, Strathallan tyre salesman Guy and Dundee’s French-born Laurent.
Kezia was handed the famous cloche containing £1,000 in Friday night’s episode.
“I really didn’t expect to win, especially because I was the youngest one there,” she said.
“I was shocked, but on my night everything went to plan. I’m usually so clumsy and can burn things but it went really smoothly.
“I think I did my best and it was a nice surprise.”
She said: “I’m not going to lie, the money is long gone.
“The week after I won I was going to Dubai but they don’t give you the money straight away, you have to wait for them to transfer it.
“I bought a nice dress but the rest of the money went on living and going to uni.
“It didn’t last long, I had one thing to show for it and it was gone.”
Come Dine with Me winner aims for career in cooking
Kezia, a primary school teaching student at Glasgow University, shares videos of her cooking meals on her Instagram page, Get Stuffed.
She said: “Cooking is something that I definitely want to end up doing. I could maybe go on to become a food influencer, continuing to post videos on my Instagram and on TikTok.
“I think Masterchef would be quite intense; I get quite stressed with cooking.
“That’s what is good about social media, you can take as much time and have as many attempts as you like.”
“I cook everything, but enjoy cooking steaks and Italian food.
“When it’s a relative’s birthday I’ll do a bistro night where I make a three-course menu of what they like.
“I did an around-the-world feature on my page where every week I’d pick a different country and cook different meals from there.”
Discussing how she applied for the show, Kezia said: “It came up as an advert, that or they put it on their Instagram page.
“I’m always applying for TV shows and never get accepted so I thought I’d give it a try. I completed the application form in five minutes.
“I remember posting a story on my Instagram page showing that I had applied. Everyone thought I’d be amazing for it.
“I heard back really quickly, it was a couple of days later and someone from the show called me.
“The audition process was quite intense, there were four rounds of interviews and we found out we would be on five days before filming.”
Show experience the ‘best week’ of Kezia’s life
Although the show was filmed in August, the five contestants remain in contact.
Kezia said: “It was the best week of my life.
“It was a nice group and we all got along well. We made an effort to keep in touch.
“It was funny because I wouldn’t usually spend time with older people but it was a different environment to what I’m used to. We’re going to meet up again in May.”
Conversation